Last month I wrote here in this space about all the great stuff coming up in the next month or so as we prepare for Christmas. I gave you a list of upcoming opportunities to worship and fellowship and learn in class. I warned you not to get your calendars full before you scheduled some of these things in there first. Unfortunately,…

November is bearing down upon us. The kids have had Fall Break and the schools are now in the big push to finish the semester strong. Bands, Orchestras, and Choirs are all planning and preparing for their Christmas or “Winter” concerts. Stores are beginning to prepare for Black Friday sales and all the shoppers that will be “doorbusting” at the end of…

The month of October typically represents a shift in the life of the church. Everyone is settled into the fall season as the school systems gear up and small groups abound in the congregation. Worship services fill up and a spirit of vitality begins to flow into the hallways! I love October! We celebrate the season and move forward with a spirit…

Each week, the staff here at Parker UMC try to put together a worship experience for Sunday that will warm your hearts, lift your spirits, and challenge you in your spiritual journey. We often try to remind you of your calling as a Christian to serve and to share the gospel of Jesus with others. We will encourage you to stay strong…

In the United Methodist Church, one of the topics you will hear a lot about is grace. John Wesley made God’s grace a touchstone for his preaching. All of the small groups, the societies and classes, that he arranged or participated in involved sharing God’s grace with each other and those who were in need. In the larger scope, God’s grace includes…

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God. – Matthew 5:9 A few months ago, after the election, I offered up a sermon in which I talked about how each of our political parties seemed to spend the majority of their time and effort demonizing their opponents. They seemed to make heroes out of their people and villains…

“If you don’t like change, you’re going to like irrelevance even less.” – Gordon Gee, President, Ohio State University Although Gordon Gee has recently found himself in some trouble for things he has said, this statement from a few years back, rings true – not just for his university but for us in the church as well. In fact, we are in…

Remember the Parable of the Talents? It’s the one where the man, before going on a journey gives talents to three of his servants to take care of. They all get different amounts to take care of – one servant gets five talents, one gets two, and one servant gets one talent. The first two use the talents they are given to…

On August 22, 1741, a brilliant but bankrupt composer shut himself away in his home and, over the next twenty-three days, wrote one of the most famous pieces of music the world has ever known. Having begun his composing career as a wunderkind, this composer had grown up to be the talk of the nation, was famous around the world, and was…